


Medical Ethics

by karakael



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-04
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-31 04:16:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6455395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karakael/pseuds/karakael
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Uzumaki Karin is a second year college student, majoring in bio-chemistry. When she and a medical student, Sakura Haruno, discover a mystery involving several of their teachers they're forced to ask themselves how far are they willing to go to uncover the truth and if it is worth ruining the career of the youngest professor, one Dr. Yakushi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been sitting in my drafts folder for years, originally just a silly AU idea that developed into a fully fleshed out story.
> 
> However, in the intervening time between drafts and publishing, reality proved that the concerns raised in this fic to be unfortunately accurate. While I can never hope to fully cover all the issues of research and medication of children, I do hope that this work is respectful and understanding of the controversy. 
> 
> Please do not take this work as a diatribe against prescription anti-depressants and anti-psychotics, but also be aware that medicine is an imprecise science, and our failures often have dire consequences. The youngest among us are always the most vulnerable, and it is the responsibility of the medical community to ensure that their voices and struggles are not ignored or pushed aside in favor of expediency and profit. 
> 
> To the victims and families of those who were incorrectly prescribed paroxetine and other such drugs, my heart goes out to you.

“Shit!” The curse word was loud enough to echo through the pipes, its origin impossible to determine in this shitty old apartment complex. 

Karin grinned. Maybe someone else was suffering through the same O-Chem 302 Homework that she was. The thought made her grin and sit back away from her desk, grateful for the distraction from the aforementioned homework.

Though now completely distracted, she still didn’t hear the pounding until it was right in front of her door. _Thump thump thump_ , the sound of running. Maybe one of the frats - 

But no, the pounding of feet was replaced with a battery upon her door, and she hiked her bathrobe a bit higher and went to open it. 

Only to be greeted by a frantic white-haired man with a towel clutched around his waist. He was dripping wet and a panicked look was plastered across his face.

“Sorry, I can’t explain. Find your cat, _NOW_.”

Karin tried to find her voice, but then the man was pushing her aside and forcing his way into her apartment.

“Oro! Damnit, Oro!” He called. “Where the hell - “

There was a feline scream from the kitchen, and Karin was finally spurred into action as her kitten hissed again. Grabbing the closest heavy thing - her calculus book - she hurried into the kitchenette, the scene suddenly making sense.

Sasuke, her adorable black kitten, was on the counter, crouched behind a stack of dishes, a ball of hissing black fuzz, his tail lashing as he looked at the _thing_ attacking him.

“Oro!” 

There was a purple snake on the floor, halfway out of a vent, its eyes fixed upon the little kitten. Muscles bunched, and with horror Karin watched as it began to climb the cabinets towards the cat.

Which was when the man let modesty hang and became a hero in Karin's mind. 

He lept over the counter, skidded as the towel went flying, and dove to grab the snake right before it struck. The kitten yowled and gave the man a slash in thanks. 

He coughed, coming up with his front modestly hid behind the counter. Mutely, Karin handed over the towel. The purple snake twined around the man’s arm, looking for all the world as if it intended to be captured again and was immensely pleased with its actions.

“Your snake?” She finally asked as the man tied the towel around his waist. 

He nodded. “Oro. When I moved in, I checked to see who else has pets. I knew that if he ever got out, he’d go straight for them. Yours is the closest room, and when I saw he was gone…”

“You ran all the way here, to make sure Sasuke didn’t get hurt?”

He nodded, as if that was what anyone would have done. 

The kitten was still growling from behind the plates. Admittedly, that was most of what he did, hide behind things and growl. He hadn’t really taken to Karin yet, but she knew it would come soon. Though being attacked by psychotic snakes probably wouldn’t do much to improve his mood.

“So…” amusing as it was having a half-naked man in her room, Karin really did need to get back to her homework. She looked at the door.

He seemed to understand. “Right. Sorry for the trouble...Karin, right? I’ll just be - uh.” He pointed to the door, and mumbled something else, and fled.

Only to knock again, just as she had closed the door.

“Um, I really am sorry. So - check the variables on problem 19. Most people forget…” And then he nodded and was finally gone. 

Karin looked at the wet footprints that lead back to the stairs, shrugged to herself, and went back to Chem 302.

\---------------------------- 

The mysterious man’s tip was good. Karin finished the rest of the problems with ease, and was able to get actual sleep before her Monday morning classes, the last of which was the dreaded O-Chem class. It was infamous for being a dropout class for the Medical School, and none of the professors - or TAs - made it easy. 

And of course Karin had the worst of the lot, a man named Yakushi Kabuto who, as the youngest professor of the department, should have been buttering up the students for good reviews, but instead was making them do extra work in an effort to “remedy their flagging understanding”. 

Karin probably didn’t hate him as much as she should have. But it was hard to hate a man who put all of those holier-than-thou med-students in their place. 

She slipped into the lecture hall a few minutes early, just enough time to chat with Suigetsu before class started. They had been friends before college, and now not even living on opposite ends of campus could separate them. 

“You won’t believe what happened to me last night - “ She started.

The boy looked up from his phone. “Someone’s pet snake tried to eat Sasuke.” 

“...you checked my status.” She sat down with a huff. “Jerk. I was all excited about telling you!”

“Well excuse me for caring about my friends! Now let me look at your homework. I couldn’t figure out 19.”

“What are you talking about? That one was easy! You just had to make sure you picked the variables right…” Quickly Karin flipped to the right page and showed him.

Suigetsu swore. “There’s no way I can fix this fast enough. Yakushi always collects at the beginning of class.” His head hit the desk with a wet thunk. “He better curve this assignment...I don’t think anyone but you got 19 right.”

“Huh. It wasn’t that hard…”

But then the bell rang, the professor walked in, and class started. 

“Holy shit.” Karin whispered, her eyes going wide. 

“What?” Sui hissed back. 

“That’s him! He looks different in glasses and - well - cloths, but the prof is totally the guy with the snake!”

“Bullshit. There is no way you saw your prof - “

“Excuse me? Gentlemen? Ladies? And everyone else?” Karin swallowed her next sentence, but the glare Dr. Yakushi was giving the class passed over her and Sui without stopping. Slowly the class quieted. “Thank you. Now, if you will please pass in your homework - “

“I have a question!” The voice was loud and clear, straight from the back of the room. Everyone turned, finding a pink-haired girl standing, her hand ruler-straight in the air.

“Yes...Sakura?” The professor continued collecting homework, giving the student only a glance.

“What right do you have to be teaching this class?”

There was barely a pause in the man’s movements, but Karin saw his eyes narrow. Elsewhere, the whispers began again. 

But Yakushi didn’t miss a beat. “I’m sorry, Miss Sakura, but my credentials are posted in the syllabus - “

“I’m not talking about that!” The girl snapped. “But about the fact that the University Ethics Committee - “

Yakushi snorted, and interrupted with ease. “I was under the impression that you were a pre-med student, not a journalist.” He smiled warmly, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes. “Now, if you have a question about the homework or what we’ve covered in class - “

“I wasn’t finished!” She said, cutting him off. “You violated medical law and conducted illegal experiments! You should have your licence revoked and -” She was about to continue her tirade, when the man started laughing.

“Oh, spirits, is that what this is about? You must have Shizune in Medical Ethics. If you want to hear my side of the story, you’re welcome to come to office hours and hear all about it. But I’m not going to waste class time on what amounted to a clerical error.” 

He was still smiling when he slapped the homework papers onto his podium. 

“Now, unless we have further questions, ones that are relevant to the topic at hand, please, let’s get on to class.”

And with that he turned, leaving Sakura still standing, hand still pointing at the man, mouth half open, and started to write on the board. 

\----------------- 

The students shifted uncomfortably during the last half hour of lecture, ready to be done with the day. Professor Yakushi never let anyone out early, no matter how nice it was outside, or how much anger was burning into the back of his head from one Haruno Sakura, who spent the rest of the class with her arms crossed and a glare on her face. 

Karin couldn’t help but glance back at her throughout the rest of the lecture, and she wasn’t the only one. The professor had handled the student's questions easily, but he certainly hadn’t satisfied the pink-haired girl. She glowed her way through class, and it was a relief when the bell finally rang. Students all poured out at once, eager to be free of the cloying atmosphere of the room, Karin had to hurry to catch up to her target before she left.

“Sakura!” The other girl turned, apparently surprised at being called out.

“Here to tell me I’m an idiot?” She shoved her books in her bag, face flushed with equal parts embarrassment and frustration.

“No. I was going to ask you what that all was about.” 

“That man was tried for medical misconduct. He shouldn’t be here anymore. At least, that’s what Professor Shizune said.”

“So...you came here to confront him without knowing the whole story?”

The other girl snapped her bag shut. “No, of course not. We’ve been studying the case in Medical Ethics. And everyone can see that it was more than a ‘clerical error’ - that man is a monster, and shouldn’t be allowed around children.”

Unbidden, the image of Yakushi jumping to save a tiny kitten flashed through Karin’s mind. “Can you tell me about it? ‘Cus you seemed to think that it was important enough to embarrass yourself in front of the whole class. Whatever he did must have been pretty bad.”

Sakura shrugged on her book-bag and nodded. “You don’t know the half of it.”

\---------------------------------


	2. Chapter 2

Thirty minutes later, fortified with a strong cup of coffee and after listening to Sakura lay out the evidence with a surprising lack of bias, Karin was completely unconvinced.

“So...you’re saying that our professor was involved in some nefarious scheme to test psychiatric drugs on children.”

“Exactly.” Sakura pounded the table, setting their cups rattling in their saucers. “He shouldn’t be allowed around students, and certainly shouldn’t be allowed to keep working in labs!”

“...right. But you said he only ran the tests on mice. There isn’t any evidence that he was involved in what his adviser did, this “Orochimaru” fellow. And wasn’t that guy some super-famous researcher that people basically killed themselves to get signed on with?” 

“Yes, but the results on the mice were terrible! And they still were going to go ahead on human testing! On testing children!” 

“Yeah, but there’s no evidence that that actually happened.” Karin scanned over the briefs Sakura had sent to her computer, trying to find what had bothered the other girl so much. “I mean, the worst that happened was some testing on pigs, and that’s really not the same as testing on kids…”

“But they wouldn’t have stopped there! It would - “

Karin huffed. “You keep on saying that! He _“would”_ have done this, he _“would”_ have done that. It doesn’t change the fact that there is absolutely no evidence in what you’ve shown me that anything bad actually happened. Except, like he said, a few clerical errors.”

“But the man’s in charge of the whole animal testing facility at this school!”

Karin blinked. “Really? I didn’t know that. That’s actually kind of cool.”

“ _If_ you don’t care about the fact that a maniac is in charge of taking care of the test subjects for really important research that could actually help people, rather than drive kids insane.”

Sakura clenched her fists and looked away. 

“Shizune says the only reason he’s here and not behind bars is because it was worth it to steal him away from his last university.”

“Sakura…” Karin sighed. “Look, everything that you’re saying and showing me - it’s all neat and stuff, but it doesn’t prove that our professor is evil. It sounds more like Shizune is a jilted ex, not an impartial source.”

“She was the representative of the medical college during the trial.”

“See what I mean? I know this is all medical stuff, but in science you’ve got to be impartial. You’ve got to look at the evidence, not what people tell you to think.”

Sakura narrowed her eyes. “You wouldn’t say that if you had Shizune for ethics.”

“Well, I’m bio-chem, not medicine. I think Yakushi is right. You should go talk to him, not make such a big deal out of it.”

“But the man is - “

“A monster, you said that. But you gotta get some proof if you want to convince me.”

Sakura crossed her arms. “Fine. I’ll prove it to you.” 

Karin figured she was welcome to try, but was far more interested in the hints of the research that Professor Yakushi had been involved in, rather than what he hadn’t done. Regrowing limbs, extending the human lifespan - she had never thought their upright teacher was involved in such cutting-edge stuff. And he had a pet snake named after his former boss. Definitely weird too. But Karin liked weird. 

Sakura didn’t, apparently, but that didn’t stop them from talking for another two hours, comparing classes and notes. Turned out that they had three different classes in common, though Bio-Chem was the only one at the same time. 

“Whatever you do, don’t take Prof. Jiraya for your Lit. Elective.” Sakura said, flipping through the day’s assignments. “He somehow makes everything about early nineteenth century erotica. I’ve only had him for three weeks and I’m already tempted to file a sexual harassment charge. He asked one of the girls to _pose_ during a discussion. Said he needed it for his ‘work”. She shuddered.

“Are there any professors you like?” Karin asked. Half the time, it seemed like Sakura had a personal vendetta against her entire school.

“All my professors in medicine are amazing.” She looked away for a moment. “I thought Yakushi would be like that. He was so nice to us during orientation. But now - “

“Doesn’t fit the picture, huh? Isn’t that college in a nutshell.” Karin said. “All work and no parties. I guess that’s what we get for going into the hard fields.”

“No, I think it’s what we get for actually working.”

“It’s not like I have a choice!” Karin complained. “My grades dip below a 3.5, and I lose my scholarship.”

“...oh.” Sakura looked a bit uncomfortable.

“Let me guess, parents paying for everything?”

“No! Just some of it. I do have a scholarship, and I’m working part time for the dean of medicine, Dr. Tsunade.”

“Huh. Why don’t you ask her about Professor Yakushi, then? If he really is in control of all the bio-testing, then she would have had to approve him knowing everything about his past, right?”

Sakura looked thoughtful. “You know...I might do that. She’s gotta have some reason for letting him stay…”

\----------------------------

Karin left it at that, and went on with her week. But two days later, back in Biochem, she could see Sakura was angry again. She was almost tempted to invite the girl to sit with her and Suigetsu, but that much frustration would have distracted from note-taking. Which was a pity, given that outside of her hatred for the Professor, she seemed like a nice enough girl. 

But Sakura glowered, and Karin guessed that whatever Tsunade had said to her, it hadn’t been enough. But it would certainly make the whole class go a lot smoother if she could convince the other student of the professor’s innocence.

Unfortunately, things only got worse.

\-------------------------------

Things reached the breaking point on Thursday, and Sakura stormed towards Shizune’s office. Two more classes in ethics, a few more documents from the case, and anyone with half a brain could see something was wrong. And if that was true, then Shizune was just as culpable as Kabuto, for letting the man still work. There must be something she could have done - 

The pink-haired girl paused in front of her second-favorite professor's office, surprised to see someone else already inside. Usually she was the only one to go to office hours. But the door had clicked shut just as she had turned the corner, and latched with a very final thunk as she approached the door.

“Yakushi Kabuto.” Sakura froze, and snuck up to the door, listening to the steel in Shizune’s voice. “To what do I owe the pleasure.”

“Dr. Shizune. You know I respect the work you’ve done, and hold you in the highest regard…”

The woman almost growled. “Spit it out, Kabuto.”

“But one of your students is in my Biochem lecture, and she’s causing a scene. You’re teaching the trial in class again, aren’t you?”

There was a tap of papers on the desk. “It is a useful exercise in duplicity. Is that a problem?”

Now it was Kabuto with tension in his voice. “Those records are supposed to be locked.”

“Come now, Kabuto, you don’t think I would break the rules for a case about ethics in medicine! I am only using the public files. My students can draw their own conclusions from them.”

“The fact that you are discussing this case at all seems to belie your words, Shizune.” Kabuto said, his voice low. “I thought your oath demanded mercy.”

“You gave up that right when five children died.”

Sakura stifled a gasp. But Kabuto seemed to have anticipated the response. Still his words hissed when he spoke.

“My actions, and the actions of my mentor, saved the lives of hundreds. I stood by my words then, and I stand by them now, and the university agrees with me. Now, if you want to take your personal vendetta to the board, please, be my guest. But don’t have your students do your dirty work. Someone who claims to be an expert in ethics should know better.”

There was a click as he turned and unlocked the door, and Sakura was barely able to scoot back fast enough to seem as if she had been heading down the corridor towards Shizune’s office, not listening at the door for the whole time.

He paused when he saw her, and the sour expression on his face softened with effort. 

“Sakura. How...unsurprising to see you here. Here to see Shizune?”

Mutely, she nodded. 

He sighed, but then seemed to shake himself free of the anger. “Well, as I said in class, if you ever want to hear a retelling of your ethics homework from a different side - feel free to stop by office hours.” He nodded politely and headed off down the corridor, Sakura surreptitiously watching him out of the corner of her eye.

She got some pleasure from the fact that he sagged as soon as he thought she couldn’t see him, leaning with one hand on the wall and rubbing his eyes. 

\--------- 

The first thing Sakura wanted to do was call Karin in triumph. Everything she'd suspected, everything Shizune had hinted at - it was all true! Yakushi had as much as admitted it! Now all she needed was the proof...

Unfortunately, Shizune seemed to have listened to the other professor's words, even if she didn't agree with him. When Sakura began questioning the woman she was brushed off, for the first time in all the two years she had been studying under Shizune. 

It was...weird. The older woman looked tired and worn, her expression tight and a frown pulling at the edges of her lips. It was as if the argument with Kabuto had aged her ten years, pulling up dark memories and old battles. Sakura wished there was a way to comfort her mentor, but there was no way to do so without revealing that she had listened at the door. And, if everything she had heard was true...then whatever the university council had decided, it had forced Shizune into covering everything up. So it would be a breach of conduct if she allowed Sakura to find out about whatever had happened.

But there was nothing stopping Sakura from finding out on her own, so she wished Shizune goodbye and sent a quick text to Karin, demanding that they meet for dinner. This detective case was just getting started, and Sakura would need all the help she could get if she wanted to prove to the world what a monster this Yakushi really was.

\----------- 

Karin groaned when she got the texted from Sakura. No matter how much she was beginning to like the girl, her theories were getting a bit much. They got in the way of accomplishing real homework and other things Karin had to get done.

Admittedly, they are also a good distraction when Karin was stuck on a tricky problem or desperate to get out of her apartment, but what with a biology test tomorrow and her kitten still angrily slashing at her anytime she got near, she really didn't want to go out.

Instead, she texted back, inviting Sakura over to study, and not promising at all to listen to her newest theories.

Unfortunately, that was all that Sakura wanted to talk about. She showed up with a box of pizza, a book-bag full of textbooks, and started talking a mile a minute the second Karin let her in the apartment complex.

Luckily there was a distraction waiting for them when they finally reached Karin's room. Sasuke, adorable Sasuke, had finally decided to act like a real cat. He waited at the door, mewing pitifully, and the instant Sakura saw him she fell in love. 

"He's beautiful!" She crooned, sweeping the kitten up into her arms, where against all logic he didn't slash her. "Where did you find him?"

Karin set the pizza box on the counter and tried not to let jealousy get the better of her. Sasuke never purred for _her_. "He showed up on the doorstep of my foster home. We couldn't find the rest of his litter, and no one else would take him."

"Awww. I bet he got taken from his mother too soon." Sakura scratched under one ear, and the kitten leaned into her hand. "I've got one about the same age named Naruto. He also lost his parents. It might be good for me to bring him over - it would help both learn to socialize. Does he scratch much?"

_Not you, apparently_ , Karin thought bitterly, but rolled up her sleeve to show several hastily bandaged gouges. "I don't think he likes me much."

"You're just being too rough with him." Sakura said. "Isn't that right Sasuke? Is she giving you too much love?"

_Well, at least someone made him happy_ , Karin thought, opening the pizza box and serving herself two slices. And if Sasuke was busy with Sakura, then she could focus on food and homework, and maybe Sakura would forget the crazy for a while.

Would that she had been so lucky. Once Sasuke had claimed a position on Sakura's lap, and all their textbooks were laid out, Sakura immediately launched into what she had heard in the hallway.

"And he admitted he had killed five kids!"

This was enough to cause Karin to put down her pizza. "You're kidding."

"Nope. Dr. Shizune said the experiments killed four kids, and he said nothing to deny it, just talked on like it didn't matter."

"Hold up. Did you actually hear him say he was responsible for that?"

"Well, not exactly. But if you were there, if you heard the way he talked...he basically implied that it was for the greater good or some such bullshit. And then he said he still stood by what he did, and Shizune could take him back to the board if she didn't like it."

Karin _hmm_ ed while Sakura continued on. She didn't quite get why the premed student was so hung up on this on professor; it wasn't as if there weren't other profs that had been involved in some sketchy stuff. Heck, it seemed as if there was a rumor every other week about the head of the economics department, Dr. Danzo, who had been accused of everything from taking money from the mob to helping the U.S. government wreck the economies of third world countries. If Sakura wanted a target, it seemed strange that she'd be going against one of the youngest, least influential professors in the school.

"...and they both said that the records from his trial were sealed. Now why would the university do that, unless there was something in there that was career-destroying?"

Karin shrugged and continued munching on her pizza. There was a moment of silence before she realized that Sakura expected a response. "Uh...maybe because the charges were so bad, that even being accused of them would destroy him? So when he was acquitted..."

"But what if the university was wrong? Shouldn't the students know if one of their teachers is potentially some psychopath?"

"I dunno, Sakura. Why don't you just ask him yourself? He basically begged you to come talk to him."

Sakura sat back and crossed her arms, dislodging the kitten Sasuke. He mewed unhappily, but didn't even swipe at her. Karin's envy deepened as Sakura shook her head and Sasuke clambered back into the other girl's lap.

"I don't trust anything he says. He's the only one benefiting from this cover up, as far as I can see. He'd never tell me the truth. No, we need to see those files. That's the only way." 

Karin finished her pizza. "Suit yourself. You're sure there isn't some other reason you're going after him? Maybe like a crush..."

Sakura's face shifted into a look of horror. "Me? Like that creep? How could - _Ew_! No! How could you ever think something like that?"

Karin shrugged again. "Well, he's hot. In that nerdy professor way. And way more built than you'd think - " She lapsed off, interrupted by Sakura's betrayed look.

"You like him! After everything I've said, everything I think happened, you still -"

Karin flushed. "No! It’s just...well, he saved Sasuke a while back. Even though that meant embarrassing himself in front of a student. He didn't even hesitate. So whatever else he's done, he's got that going for him."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "The life of one kitten, no matter how cute, does not make up for the lives of five children." 

"Well, unless you find a way to break into the records office to find those confidential files, you aren't giving me much more than my gut to go on. And my gut says he's a decent guy!" Karin found herself shouting, and quickly lowered her tone. The last thing she wanted was for the subject of their conversation to hear them from the room above. "I'm just saying, Sakura, that you seem to be really hard on this guy with basically no proof. I'm trying to remain unbiased here, but you've got to consider that the university knew all the facts, and they made the call to hire him, despite whatever he did. They gave him a second chance; maybe you should to."

The flash of anger in Sakura's eyes was more than enough answer, and Karin was readying herself for another blast when, against all prior examples Sakura sighed and said, "Fine. I'll hold off exposing him until I find proof. But! I will find that proof, and when I do - "

"I'll look at it and accept it as best I can." Karin promised. "But for now, can we get back to homework? I could really use some help on this Philosophy assignment..."

And that was that, for the rest of the night, but Karin still felt the seething irritation from her friend, and knew that the storm was far from passed. 

_Please let me at least get through his class_. She begged to whatever deity listened to poor college students. _She can rip him to pieces after I get my A_. But if she was perfectly honest, she would admit that she was just as curious as Sakura...but still unsure if her professor was as evil as the Med Student said...or if there was a deeper mystery at work.

\-------

"And ever since then, she's been really quiet." Karin explained to Sui the next week. "If she wasn't such a goodie-two-shoes I'd be worried she took my suggestion to break into the records department seriously."

Sui leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "I don't see why you're so focused on those records. There's no way you'll ever get in to see the official documents...why would you even try?"

Something in his inflection made Karin pause. "What do you mean? Its not like there are any unofficial doc - " she trailed off, realizing his point

Sui grinned when he saw the light bulb flash. "Dummy. We're in the internet age. They can silence the administration all they want..."

"...but they can't silence all of us." 

\----------


End file.
